


loving him was like trying to solve a crossword

by kayyyy31



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jealousy, based on promo pics for sundays episode, headcanons, minor angst with a happy ending, the puzzle maker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-18 00:45:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14201282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayyyy31/pseuds/kayyyy31
Summary: Jake hates this feeling.It’s been awhile since he felt this burning jealousy course through his veins.  He remembers the first time he felt this way when he saw his dad with another woman, barely old enough to know what jealousy meant let alone know what it feels like.  He felt it once or twice with Sophia, more than that when he saw Amy with Teddy.  But he and Amy had been solid for so long (they were engaged, damn it) that he had forgotten what this miserable emotion felt like.It all came rushing back to him when Vin Stermley walked into the precinct for the first time.





	loving him was like trying to solve a crossword

Jake hates this feeling.

It’s been awhile since he felt this burning jealousy course through his veins. He remembers the first time he felt this way when he saw his dad with another woman, barely old enough to know what jealousy meant let alone know what it feels like. He felt it once or twice with Sophia, more than that when he saw Amy with Teddy. But he and Amy had been solid for so long (they were engaged, damn it) that he had forgotten what this miserable emotion felt like.

It all came rushing back to him when Vin Stermley walked into the precinct for the first time.

Jake couldn’t ignore the way Amy perked up when she saw him, how she leaned into his touch when she gave him a hand shake, or the way her eyes lit up when she turned around to give Jake the goofy smile that made his knees weak.

Jake was jealous of Vin, and he hated it.

Amy said yes, she’s going to marry him. He knows this, he knows how much she loves him. So what was it about this guy that made Jake’s stomach flip over in pure hatred and jealousy?

“Hey babe,” Amy’s voice cut through his revere, “Vin and I were saying that we should go to this bar near his apartment to celebrate closing the case. It’d be fun, no?”

“I wish I could Ames, but I already told Gina and Charles I’d go to Shaw’s with them. Why don’t we meet up after?”

“Ok, works for me,” Amy said as she moved her hand down his arm as she walked away. Jake wasn’t entirely sure why he lied to Amy, but all he knew was that there was no way in hell he was going to any kind of bar with Vin. Especially not Vin’s bar; if Jake was going to suffer through such an awful evening, he was going to do it on his own turf.

“Heyyyy Gina, Charles. What do you say we go to Shaw’s like right now?” he asked a little out of breath, “yes? Great, I already told Amy the three of us made plans, sound good?”

“Uh oh, trouble in paradise?” Gina asked with a knowing look on her face.

“No, no trouble at all why would you say something like that? Anyways, let’s go to Shaw’s. First round’s on me!”

As he sat at their usual table at Shaw’s, Jake couldn’t stop picking at the label on his bottle as he tried to drink away his troubles. He was doing a great job of ignoring Charles’ cries until Charles draped his arms around Jake’s shoulders.

“Hey, buddy, is everything alright?” Jake asked flatly.

“I’m just sick that you and Amy are having problems. It’s bringing me to tears!”

“Calm down, Charles,” Jake said exasperatedly, “Amy and I are not having problems. Everything’s fine with us.”

“If everything’s fine then why did you tell Amy you had plans with us here and then forced us down here?” Gina said as she took a swig from her bottle, “That doesn’t sound fine to me.”

“Gina why do you even care about my relationship? And besides, everything is fine. Amy and I are fine.”

“This is about that hot puzzle guy you’ve been working with this week, isn’t it? Sounds like someone is jealous,” Gina cut in.

“I am not jealous! I mean yeah he’s gorgeous but Amy’s my fiance. She wants to spend her life with me, not some nerd who makes crossword puzzles. Come on, let’s get drunk.”

Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable cab ride for Jake.

By the time the trio gets to Shaw’s, Charles had worked himself into a full blown meltdown over Jake and Amy having relationship troubles. Jake had to repeatedly calm him down in the cab, while Gina loudly exclaimed that they were going to the bar so Jake could drink away his problems, not Charles.

“Guys, seriously, it’s not that big of a deal. I just didn’t want to tag along while some random guy makes eyes at Amy all night. It’s embarrassing for him.”

“Oh, but it is a big deal Jakey!! There shouldn’t be another guy looking at your fiance like that; you gotta go teach him a lesson.”

“Charles, I’m not gonna do that. It’s a free country and if Vin wants to stare at Amy, he can. It’s not like anything else is gonna happen. I trust her.”

“Mmmkay, listen here little pup,” Gina butted in, “I had to listen to Amy go on and on about this guy last night, and it was no lie the worst 15 minutes of the year. Anyway, she said he’s pretentious and I had to waste my time listening to her compare him to you. She saw all that and is really psyched for the wedding, so you’re acting like an idiot for no reason. And like, you act like a fool all the time. That’s how bad you’re acting right now.”

“Are you sure you heard her right? You tend to tune her out,” Jake replied uneasily.

“Yes I’m sure, my magical ignore Amy powers failed last night. It was a damn tragedy. But if I were you, I’d go find her and apologize for acting like a dick all week.”

That’s how Jake found himself standing outside some foreign bar, trying to locate his fiance without crossing over the threshold. There was no way he was going to be able to find her through the sea of people on the dance floor.

It takes him a lot longer than he would have liked before spotting Amy and Vin laughing at a table near the bar. He barely noticed the long line of people waiting outside the bar, but he definitely heard the bouncer yell that they weren’t letting anyone else in until the bar cleared out a little.

So Jake did what any normal person would do when their fiance was at a crowded bar with a ripped former model; sneak in through whatever window he could reach. At the moment it seemed like a great idea; how was he supposed to know he would find the window right above the urinal?

Eventually, Jake makes it out of the bathroom looking more than a little rough and feeling completely embarrassed that he’s about to have this conversation with Amy looking like a mad man.

As out of place and nervous as he feels, he can’t help the warm feeling that settles in his stomach when he finally lays eyes on Amy, nor can he quell the joy that blossoms when Amy’s eyes light up when she sees him.

(The joy is short lived, because after a second or so, the emotion in Amy’s eyes turn to concern, followed shortly by anger.)

“Hey babe, what are you doing here?” she asks.

(He knows that she really wants to ask, ‘I thought you were with Charles and Gina and why do you look like one of the swamp monsters from those cartoons you love?’)

“Charles and Gina had to head home early, so I thought I’d come find you guys! Hey Ames, can I talk to you for a sec?”

As they walk to a quieter corner of the bar, he can feel how tense she is under his hand on the small of her back. He can’t stop the small sigh he releases when he realizes how hard this apology is going to be.

“Look babe, I’m sorry. I’ve been acting like a jerk all week and I just couldn’t stop. I know there’s no reason for me to be this upset over you being friends with Vin, but I don’t know, I just saw how excited you got when you saw him and how good looking he is and I couldn’t help myself. Gina made me realize that I’ve been acting like such a insecure dummy and I have no reason to be. I cannot wait to marry you; I love you so much Ames.”

“Its okay Jake, I know your heart was in the right place. And while I appreciate the apology, I don’t think I’m the right person you should be talking to right now. You’ve been a real dick to Vin this week. Did you know the first thing he asked me when we got here is how come you didn’t like him?”

“He really asked that?”

“Yeah, he kept asking if he did anything to annoy you. I’m gonna run to the bathroom, I’ll meet you back at the table,” she said with a pointed glare loaded with subtext.

Jake took a deep breath to compose himself before walking over to the small table Vin was sitting at. With a sigh, he sat down in the chair Amy was sitting in.

“Hey man, can we talk?” Jake asked hesitantly.

“Sure Jake, what’s up?”

“I just wanna apologize for being such a dick all week. I acted like a child and iced you out and it wasn’t fair of me. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Hey, no worries Jake. Apology accepted. Wanna beer?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” 

Despite having made peace with Vin, there was still such a tense cloud surrounding the pair while they waited for Jake’s beer and Amy. In a fit of desperation, Jake said the one thing he had been wanting to tell Vin since Jake took on the case.

“Oh hey, I keep meaning to tell you but thanks so much for that typo in the April 28th crossword. Seeing how irritated Amy got over it is what made me realize I want to marry her.”

“What are you talking about? There was no typo in the April 28th puzzle. There has never been a typo in a puzzle I’ve made. I don’t make typos,” Vin said, his voice escalating with every syllable.

“You might wanna take that up with Amy, cause she found one. Her nose got all scrunched up when she saw it, it was really adorable.”

Vin actively shook at the love-sick look that was steadily growing on Jake’s face, “well I don’t know what she saw but I can assure you, there were no typos in any puzzle I’ve made, end of story.”

As Amy walked back towards the table, she was filled with relief that her fiance was finally acting like himself again, and hope of a beautiful friendship between the three blossomed in her heart. That image quickly disintegrated when she saw Vin quite literally rocking in his chair while Jake looked on with a semi-concerned look on his face.

“Is everything alright here?” she asked nervously.

“Babe, I swear I don’t know what happened. I apologized and he said everything was good but then I thanked him for the typo in the April 28th puzzle, you know, and then this happened.”

“I can guarantee that there was no typo in that puzzle. I never make typos, I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

“There was a typo,” Amy said, “hold on I’ve got the puzzle in my purse.”

“You do?” Jake asked as Amy rooted around in her purse.

“Of course I do babe, I’ve been carrying it around since Halloween,” she said as she found the crossword, “Look, Vin, there’s a typo right there.”

“I don’t believe this! I never make typos. Oh my god, I’m losing it,” Vin said as he grabbed his jacket and stalked out of the restaurant, “I never make typos, I never make typos.”

Jake then turned to look at his fiance and saw the all too familiar spark in her eyes, “I can’t believe you have that in your purse.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t know I carry it around in my bag.”

As they walked out of the bar hand in hand, Jake felt happier and fuller than he had in a long time.

“Can you believe that this time next month we’ll be getting married?” he asked.

“I can’t wait,” she answered as he pulled her into his chest, “I love you so much.”

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr at okayokaycoolcoolcool


End file.
